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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · mine · court · club · deal · snap · cabinet · tear

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. court — for sport
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. club — for golf
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. season — in sport
  10. court — of law
  11. club — for dancing
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. season — of the year
  14. court — of a king
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. club — a group
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tear — to rip
  23. deal — to handle
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com